Anthem Week: Listen

For a lot of Christians, the idea of "listening to God" is weird. I think we're afraid of what might happen if everyone starts listening to God.

So we opt for the more controlled approach: "Why do you have to make life with God so difficult? Read your Bible and just do what it says."

To be sure, there are plenty of Christian wack jobs out there waiting to validate every voice in their head, "God told me to go the long way to work this morning" or "God told me to tell you..." or worse yet, "God told me we were going to get married."

But I don't think the spiritual abuses should keep us from cultivating an intimate walk with Christ. One thing is for sure, I don't want to be one of those who waits passively, "If God wants to speak to me he knows where to find me [while not applying all diligence to seek Him]" On the contrary, using every possible means, I resolve to seek Him- reading, memorizing, meditating on the Scriptures, prayer, fellowship, conversational relationship with God throughout the day. In a word, listening.

On a personal note, I've never had God speak to me about any major life decision- telling me to do this or that. Usually God's voice in my life is less spectacular, "Hey Mark, you should stay late and help tear down chairs" or "Maybe you could help ___ by giving them ____."

If God does speak to you in a "crazier" way, first give it time. The bigger it's ramifications, the more you should pray about it and talk to a spiritual adviser for guidance.